


The color holds the truth

by maruzze



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, Introspection, Painting, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:08:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26441707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maruzze/pseuds/maruzze
Summary: Edelgard wishes to know her loyal friend and retainer more, but she is aware of Hubert's guarded nature. She asks for a brief conversation with him, alone, and in the meantime she uses her painting skills to understand him better.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	The color holds the truth

**Author's Note:**

> i really like the complex relationship hubert and edelgard have..... so i thought this piece up, short and nice
> 
> may add up to it, eventually

When Edelgard would take a canvas out, her dorm’s door would often be closed and secured with a key. That day, however, she left the door unlocked even if closed, waiting for company while setting her work station at the right angle, so that she could paint in secret despite the person who would soon be at her door.

Like clockwork, a short and distinct knock came from her right, Hubert’s voice following its last notes before silence could return in her room. Edelgard invited him in, not bothering with standing up from the chair, but her eyes followed the swing of the door and the looming figure of her loyal vassal closing it behind him. She appreciated the lack of reaction to the set up, but a flash of curiosity sparked in his eyes. They scanned the tools - easel, canvas, oil paint - while his mouth stayed silent, awaiting further solicitations by his lady.

“Please, Hubert.” Edelgard raised her arm, her hand open in invitation towards her bed. The man in question followed the movement, gave her a quick glance and followed her order without questioning her request. He took a seat on the edge of the bed, careful not to undo it, and crossed his arms as he waited for the reason of his presence there. Edelgard knew him well enough that she could tell each passing thought, the gist of them at least. What she couldn’t understand was Hubert himself, beyond his devotion and his duty, above his way of thinking and the words he spoke.

“I hope you don’t mind me working on this painting,” she grabbed the right brush, clean and ready to color the already primed surface. A little white lie, if she could consider it like that, as she didn’t start the painting yet, “Talking usually helps me focus and I had difficulties with that, lately.”

Hubert nodded, relaxing his posture just the tiniest bit as a sign of understanding and trust. Edelgard found that oddly heartwarming, as she considered the man sharing a space with her in that moment; menacing, brutish some would say, yet she knew him as nothing but subservient to her and her orders. A commendable trait, if all she was looking for was a mere servant and not someone she could confide in for something as noble and desperate as the path she was forging for herself.

Hubert was, in no other terms, a trusted agent under her command, and she wanted to grow that relationship into something deeper, something stronger than a chain made of diamond. Knowing him was an attempt to plant the seed for that goal of hers. She looked over at her companion, not letting her face crack into a smile, and simply picked up the colors she was going to use. A dark background sounded ideal, for the portrait.

“Tell me,” she spokes as the broad brush colored the surface of the cansas, a deep gray. She would shade it later, when the color would be uniform and solid. In the meantime, she continued to converse, “What do you think of this year's lessons? I do have my personal opinion about the way things are organized, as you know my involvement, but I would like to know your thoughts on the matter.”

Hubert seemed to consider the question. Weigh the words, let the way he wanted to phrase his opinion wander in its mind to seek maturity, and it looked fascinating on his face. When his edges sharpened and his eyes shone bright, Edelgard commited the details to memory - almost turning to pick up the closest piece of paper, to sketch a reference for later. Then he spoke, and she was already adding lighter flashes of color to the gray, “I work for your safety, lady Edelgard. I do not hide my diffidence for the new professor, but I will trust your judgement.”

Edelgard stole a quick glance in his direction, observing the shape of his upper body, then spread the pale color of his skin on the canvas. Talking was effortless, no matter how busy she seemed, “I appreciate both the concern and the reliability, but I want you to be separate from me in your judgments.”

Hubert grinned, and another image was archived in the depths of her memories for later use. The tight skin around his mouth pulled and moved, tense, but she knew the smile was genuine. The colors in front of her started to take the right shape under her brush, now coloring the black of the uniform to give a quick framework for later. She listened closely to his next words, “Milady, I hope you are not suggesting that I would step back from your duties towards you. My judgments are not dictated by you, but by my own decisions towards you.”

“I would never, Hubert,” leaving behind the clothes, Edelgard started to add the white and gold of his eyes, before the gleam of his passion could be smothered after the passing of the moment. It was a special light illuminating them, only burning when the subject of conversation was right. It was that light one of the few reasons that allowed the ice inside of her to grow slower, “I know it is a fool’s errand and I am no jester. I just wanted to remind you that your role does not define you beyond its limits, I value you for more than a simple retainer.”

He seemed a bit surprised by that, and his back straightened in humility. The look that fell on his face was new, or rare, and Edelgard really wished to be able to sketch it down on paper to remember it. Replicating it would prove difficult with a man like Hubert and she was sure its minutiae would be lost in the deformity of memory once he would walk out of the door. Alas, she didn’t have the time for it and she just continued refining the features of his face.

“I apologize, lady Edelgard,” his voice helped her paint the shape of his mouth, following the familiar line across his face. Thin lips, often stretched in a grin or a smirk, usually hiding what he really thought as he kept unspoken words that would illustrate the reality of his mind. Edelgard never doubted the truth coming from Hubert, but she would wonder what was concealed under layers of caution and professionalism, “I did not intend to question you.”

She let her face slip into a quick smile, letting drop in a matter of seconds before it could even hope to freeze in place. She considered her options regarding the color of his hair, unsure about the use of black or other colors in lieu. In the end, her brush was coated in the darkest shade she had available, “On the contrary, I hope to count on your reasonable doubt. I need someone to ground me and banish useless reveries of perfection.”

His usual expression returned, serene yet bordering on mocking. She was aware it was merely suggestion, Hubert would never dare to ridicule her and Edelgard would trust no one to maintain a sense of loyalty to her besides that man. Despite the distance she wanted to overcome, she was sure of his character and his ideals just as much as her own. Solid as much as ambitious, toeing the line of gruesome conspiracy.

“So,” she switched brush, preferring a smaller one to had inklings of shadow to highlight the edges of his face. A darker color contrasting with the candid skin, stressing the angle of his cheekbones and the sharp jaw, the straight nose casting a shadow in this light. As she went deeper into the details, she wanted to dig more in his thoughts, “You did not answer me. What do you think of this year's lessons?”

A pregnant pause weightened over them, Hubert once again contemplating the words he wanted to say and that he wanted Edelgard to know. She tightened the grip around her brush, raising it from the canvas to avoid ruining the work done until that moment. She took the chance to clean up her tools, delicately putting them aside and sitting back to admire her own painting. She looked over that divider, towards the man who was glancing in her direction as well. Their eyes met, their faces stayed the same, but Hubert seemed to have gathered his thoughts enough to speak.

“It does not matter, to me, if you consider them a reliable paw in your ambitions, lady Edelgard,” his words and tone lacked any real hostility, just the emotion that could fill the concern of a man like him. She stayed impassible, dignified, but was willing to hear his suggestions over the matter, “There is something in them. Something that does not let my mind rest, I need to know I can truly rely on someone like them.”

“This is not what I asked, Hubert.” Just like him, she didn’t intend to discourage a discussion and she wasn’t too surprised by his suspicions. Trusting someone with his very life, his very soul one could say, was something that required complicity and chemistry. Ironic how, despite the familiarity between them, Edelgard still craved a more intense understanding of his thought process and of his actions. She could accept that some degree of separation between two beings was required to work with harmony and with efficiency.

“Was it now?” a note of teasing, but it was fleeting. She was a flash of confidence in his eyes, so common in him yet so elusive in her presence. He talked without the sentiment of regret in his voice, but his tone also lacked anything rebellious. It just felt light, inconsequential, “Ah, I apologize again.”

Edelgard sighed, without malice. She observed her painting again and found it lacking something deeper, a detail she could name and represent entirely. She figured she couldn’t really, fully understand her companion in a single day, but her path in that direction started. She stood up, requested to be left alone with a veiled apology for the stolen time and a thank you for the company. Hubert accepted her parting words without too much of a problem, said his goodbyes and assured her he was at her disposal for anything, outside his other obligations.

Edelgard was left alone, in front of the portrait. It needed refining, it was the draft of a finished work, yet it contained personality. She even thought the harsh contrasts and colors were fitting, for Hubert. However, she was still convinced something was amiss. She sighed again, a bit disappointed.

Carefully, she moved the easel away from the window, to avoid the paint drying too soon. Maybe she would return later to finish it.


End file.
